I was told that the rear struts have a spacer in the strut mount where the fronts have the bearing that allows the strut to steer. I was also told that this spacer is rubber. If it is then mine is likely to be gone, or almost gone. Would it be possible to use the old bearings from the front as spacers for the rear? It doesn't seem that it would hurt anything and it would be easier,cheaper, and more reliable then buying new spacers. It just dawned on me that this could be the reason the the rear seems to ride about 1/2" to 1" lower then the front. What do you think?

Are you replacing the front strut bearings? If so, Why?

Generally, the spacers in the rear suspension that you refer to shouldl be in good shape. I haven't found these spacers to be a problem area in any of the Z's I've dismantled. The bumpstops would be a different story.

If your rear suspension sags a bit, the springs are a more likely cause.

I don't know what they look like yet, but i do know my Z sat for 12 years before I got it. It had 1993 stickers on it. It sat in West Sacromento, you should know, cold and riany in winter, hot as hell in the summer. That weather alone can deteriorate rubber. I have also read, in Carrol Smith's Engineer to Win, that springs should not sagor settle with age or even with milage, unless the spring is a piece of $h!t (made of crappy material or not heat treated properly). I guess i will see when i get it apart.

BTW: i am replacing the bearing becase my car sat for 12 years. You should have seen the brakes the fluid wasn't fluid, the pistons were rusted in the calipers and the wheel cylinders were corroided so much that they couldn't seal at all (even after a rebuild).

Was this Z found sitting at a house along I-5 South of Sac.? I used to see one parked for many years and often thought about pulling off the freeway to see if it could be bought, but I never did.

Your description of the brake fluid and parts is about normal, but translating that issue to greased ball bearings and rubber spacers that are relatively protected from weather isn't necessarily the same.

If you have the opportunity, you might consider waiting to examine these parts. I think that you may find that the strut bearings and spacers may very well be in good shape. Afterall, they are fairly well protected from "weather".

The bearings are ~$25 ea, and the spacers are ~$6 ea from MSA

As for springs not sagging with age, well I guess that's why a run of reproduction OEM spec, and Euro spec springs for 240Z's was recently made (after being NLA for many years) and a fair few sets of both were snapped up in a "group buy" by members here and in the IZCC, with the remainder being sold through Courtesy Nissan.

BTW, I am a big fan of the late Carroll Smith, and his "........ to Win" books

I can second what montoya_fan01 said regarding the bump stops, front strut bearings and rear strut spacers. I just ripped everything apart and the bumps stops had the consistency of a dried out brownie. The front strut bearings were fine, as were the rear strut spacers. Too bad I bought new bearings and spacers beforehand........

Not to totally disagree with Mr. Smith, but numerous years of doing brake and suspension work leads me to say that springs do sag when they get old. If they didn't, why would the manufacturer bother to give us the specs to compare against? Trust me, springs can get old.

You don't mention what year Z you have, but something else to consider is that it is not at all unusual for a US-spec 240Z to sit a touch higher in front. This 'nose-high' attitude was corrected with the 260Z and later. 240Zs for other markets did not see this as much. I have read that the 'nose-high' attitude of the US 240's was one of the sources for the recurring complaints in the US about high speed stability. Most people addressed this with a front spoiler (like a spook), but a spring change to get the nose down a touch could also fix it.

When I had my car apart , I removed 1 1/4 coils from each of the front coils on my '73 240 . This alone made a big difference in the light feeling at speed. before I would get a shimmi from about 75 on up , and now she is smooth . And I no longer have that feeling of lightness . Nothing else was changed on the front suspention . I havent had the car above 95 yet so I dont know about higher speeds . The Z now sets level and the ride is unchanged . I bought a set of the Euro stage 1 mentioned above and I will post results when I have them installed . I am replacing the struts at the same time , it's a funds available thing right now . If the spacing between the top of the tires to the fender lip is increased from were it is now , with the new springs , I will cut the coils again. I figured that cutting the coil as I did loward the front a little over one inch . With no ill effects . My 2¢ Gary

This Z was sitting in a lot up by lake Folsum on a back road, it was pretty secluded. As far as why I am replacing the bearings, I don't have a good enough reason not to. I can get two bearings for $30 and I have the money to spend, and i am going to have the bearing out anyways. Not only does the rear seem lower but the wheels seem to have a little negetive camber to them. Another possibility could be that the strut insulators themselves are sagging. I can feel that they have cracks in the rubber. I have driven it probably 100-200 miles without doing any suspension work, so maybe the insulators are kind of settling down, i don't know why the front wouldn't do the same though. I guess that I will figure it out when the time comes to tear into it.